Memorial hockey tournament in Cox’s Cove brings back fond memories of two great buddies for Lance White

Lance White is shown here with his daughter Cassy during an earlier edition of the Mark Baldwin-Tommy Buffett Memorial Hockey Tournament held in Cox's Cove. - Contributed

A No. 99 Los Angeles Kings jersey belonging to Mark Baldwin hangs from the rafters of the Marshall-Moores Arena.

A No. 4 Boston Bruins jersey belonging to Tommy Buffett can be seen next to it.

Pictures of both guys are plastered around the hospitality room at the rink for people to remember them.

It’s a sight that brings out the emotion in Lance White.

It brings him back to fond memories of two guys who he spent a lot of time with growing up in Cox’s Cove.

White, like so many family members and friends, keep the memory of the two alive with an annual memorial recreational hockey league tournament because both guys were big fans of hockey at every level.

Mr. Baldwin, a Cox’s Cove native, was in the prime of his life at 19 years old when he died in 2002.

Mr. Buffett, a cousin and good friend of Mr. Baldwin, died a decade later.

Buffett was the driving force behind starting the Mark Baldwin Memorial Hockey Tournament in 2005 in memory of his buddy.

Perry Sheppard and his wife Tracy Murrin-Loder have carried on with the tradition of creating a festive atmosphere around a weekend dedicated to celebrating the game they loved and honouring their memory.

White hasn’t been able to be on the ice with the guys for the past three years because medical reasons forced him to the sidelines.

However, he’s always a fixture at the rink when the memorial tournament rolls around in February of each year. He is going to be helping out as a volunteer when the tournament takes place Feb. 8-9 and expects to be spending a lot of hours driving the Zamboni to keep the ice in good shape.

White lived next door to Baldwin when they were youngsters. They spent a lot of time together, shooting around the puck or smacking around the softball.

A love for sports brought them closer together and White always wished he could have had more time.

“We were like brothers. We done everything together,” White said. “There’s not a day that I don’t think of him, really.”

When it came to his buddy Mr. Buffett, White felt like he lost a brother and looks forward to sharing stories about him when players converge on Cox’s Cove to participate in two days of hockey fun with the entire community showing its support in one form or another.

“Tommy was one of a kind. We always kept in contact no matter how apart we were,” White said.

White will always miss them. It left a void in his life.

To some it will be about a goal they scored or a big save made, but it runs much deeper for White.

He’s happy to have a constant reminder of two guys who were dear to his heart.